Silly Little Bar Tricks
Welcome to our section on silly little bar tricks. If you have a Silly Little Bar Trick you want to share with others then drop us a message and we will see about adding it to this section.

  Bar Trick 1

Lighting a glass with a little bit of Sambuca in it on fire, putting your hand over it to extinguish the flame, and when the flame goes out, the decrease in air temp creates a strong suction on your hand, strong enough that you can shake your hand all around without the glass coming off. Great for freaking people out.
FYI - The suction is created by a vacuum in the glass. The flame is fueled by oxygen and goes out when all of the air has been consumed by the flame. With no air left you have created a vacuum.
Submitted by: Joe (joecatt@iconn.net) (Joes Page)
Recent email from Andy, had a correction to share regarding the FYI:
The FYI is false information, the real reason is because as we all know flames produce heat, heat rises, and cause gases, liquids, and solids to expand . when one covers the opening causing the flame to extiguish the heat source stops heating air and it cools. As a result of the gases cooling a partial vacuum is formed and it tries to equalize the pressure of outside and inside the glass by pulling\pushing on your hand. not because of the lack of oxygen and other gases, sorry Joe you were wrong, better luck next time. please post this to inform the people that read your list of tricks. thank you for you time.

  Bar Trick 2

Take a brandy snifter and an olive and tell the customer to get the olive into the snifter without touching, smashing, or using any outside force except the snifter to get the olive into said snifter.

Solution: The trick is done by putting the snifter over the olive and by moving the glass in a circular motion, centrifugal /centripetal force pulls the olive up inside the glass and with a quick flip of the wrist...its in there.
Submitted by: Chris (xxxx@xxxx.xxx)

  Bar Trick 3

One bar trick involves fours matches, a lighter, a saucer, a lemon or lime wedge, and a rocks glass. Put a little water in the saucer, enough to be deep but not to the edges of the dish. Inform your friends that you can put all the water in the glass without touching the saucer and only using the items mentioned above.

Solution: Stick the four matches into the sides of the lemon with the match sticks pointing up. Put the lemon, peel down, on the plate. Light the matches. Place the rocks glass over the lemon. The lack of oxygen will extinguish the flames and will suck all the water off the plate up into the glass. It's kind of like the flaming Sambucca trick but with more audience participation.
Submitted by: Adam (xxxx@xxxx.xxx)

  Bar Trick 4

Take 2 small shot glasses and fill one with Kahlua and the other with milk. Ask a guest to put the contents of one glass into the other and vice versa without pouring any out ( or poutting one in their mouth), they may however use their drivers license.

Solution: Place the license over the top of the kahlua and turn upside down and on the milk without spilling and then remove slightly to allow the milk to gradually fill the kahlua glass.
Submitted by: Greg R. (A bartender from Jack Astor's Bar in Dallas, Texas) (xxxx@xxxx.xxx)

  Bar Trick 5

Take an empty rum bottle and heat it up under hot water. take a straw and spear it about 3/4 of the way from the bottom. put the straw in the bottle and tell the guest to get the straw out the bottle without touching the straw, the bottle, oor the sword.

Solution: drop a match in the bottle. MAKE SURE NOT TO BE ABOVE THE BOTTLE WHEN YOU DO THIS!! the alcohol left in the bottle will force the straw out.
Submitted by: Tom W. (barman@indy.net)

  Bar Trick 6

Fill three shot glasses with scotch or rye or whatever, and three beer glasses with beer. Bet someone you can drink the three beer glasses before they drink the three liquor glasses. The only stipulation is that you cannot touch the other person's glass.

Solution: Drink one glass of beer quickly and invert your glass over one of the full liquor glasses. Take your time drinking your beer as your pigeon cannot touch your glass to get at his/hers.
Submitted by: Hugh (humac@sympatico.ca)

  Bar Trick 7

Take a match from a book of cardboard matches. Print H(heads) on one side and T (tails) on the other. Tell your friend that you will toss the match in the air and if it lands either heads or tails you will buy him a drink. However, should it land on its side, he must buy you a drink.

Solution: Just before you toss the match in the air, bend it. It will always land on it's side.
Submitted by: Hugh (humac@sympatico.ca)

  Bar Trick 8

Bet someone that they can't balance a full pint of beer on their two thumbs. If they agree tell them to place their thumbs flat on the table and balance the pint.

Solution: You lost the bet but your friend is stuck with a pint on their hands and can't free their hands without spilling the pint.
Submitted by: Pam (xxxx@xxxx.xxx)

  Bar Trick 9

This trick is for people who like funneling beers.

Let a friend drink half of his/her beer, then bet him/her that you can chug your FULL beer before he/she can finish hers.

Solution: Take the bendy straw and place it into the bottle with the bent part out of the bottle. The other 2/3rds of the straw should be in the bottle. Chug beer. Air escapes through the straw allowing very quick consumption.
Submitted by: Stephen (smellin@vermontel.com) (Home Page)

  Bar Trick 10

Place two BIG sherry glasses near each other and put an egg in the near one (to the customer). Tell the customer to move the egg from one to the other without touching the egg or the glasses.

Solution: They should blow hard into the glass with the egg and it will "flip" onto the other glass... Honest! (practice to estimate the correct distance with a boiled one (egg not glass!))
Submitted by: Madmatt (mperrins@netcomuk.co.uk) (Home Page)

  Bar Trick 11

Kind of cruel and messy but fun to watch!!! After someone has opened a fresh bottle of beer....tap the top of their beer with your bottle and watch as the beer slowly begins to flow out the top and dows not stop. Have to keep your head up and be able to chug some beer!!...

Submitted by: Scott Vlna (xxxx@xxxx.xxx)
A good response to trick #11(someone tapping your beer) is to quickly put your thumb over your bottle opening and use it as a sprayer. The pressure normally builds enough that you can spray the beer-waster a good 5-6 feet away.
Submitted by: Glen

  Bar Trick 12

Balance a quarter on its side,then balance a match on the quarter.Put a shot glass over the match and quarter and have the customer knock the match off the quarter without knocking the quarter over or touching the glass or knocking the quarter over. Answer. With a comb,run it through your hair,move the comb next to the glass and watch the match fall off.
Submitted By: Elvis61

  Bar Trick 13

This is more of a silly little joke than a trick, to play on cigarette smokers... When you notice a person has opened a fresh pack of cigarettes... bet them the cannot hold all the cigarettes (removed from the pack) between their pointer and middle finders.... most people can hold all the cigarettes between their fingers.... here is the kicker, when they accomplish this task grab the empty pack and rip it to shreds... this leaves them with a hand full of cigarettes, and no place put them...

  Bar Trick 14

This is an old trick. Take a bev nap and open it up. Twist all four ends so you have a parachute looking thing. This is your crab. Now take a whole lemon or lime and place it under the bev nap and make sure the twisted corners are aimed down like four legs. Now roll them lemon and watch the crab crawl across the bar.
Submited By: Charles R.

  Bar Trick 15

Hello! They call me Big Al. Please submit my trick and websight address to your list. Love your sight....

Take a shot glass and wet the rim with sweetened lime juice. Now place the glass (rim down) onto a beverage napkin. Holding the glass firmly onto the napkin with one hand, slowly and neatly rip the napkin around the edge with the other hand. This should leave you a perfect circle of paper covering the open end of the glass.(you are ready for your trick)Place 2 napkins in front of your audience with a quarter on one.

Now bring your shot glass from it's hidden position with an unfolded napkin covering it.Place the shot glass, lip down, onto the napkin without the quarter. This should be covered with an unfolded napkin. Now announce "I am going to make this quarter disappear!".Pick up the covered glass and move over to napkin with the quarter on it. Tap 3 times on the top and count loudly "ONE ..........TWO..........THREE......ALLLAAAKKAZZAAMMM!!!!!". Remove the napkin thats covering it and WOW the quarter has seemed to disappear!*Note * Do not allow anyone to pick the glass up * To make it re-appear do the same thing in reverse.

Check out my websight at Home Page
THANKS ALOT GUYS!!!! Big Al

  Variation On The Same Theme. . .

You will need a rocks glass a couple of napkins and a quarter. Take the rocks glass and wet the rim then take a napkin and unfold it over the top of the glass so it sticks...you may have to wet the rim a bit as you reove the napkin. The result should be the circle part of a napkin covering the top of the rocks glass. Lay out another napkin this one unfolded once and place the rocks glass on one half so it looks like it is resting plain as can be and the quarter on the other half. Now ask the victim while making much hand gestures over the glass if they see the quarter. After answering yes ask them again if they see it and then a third time. For the trick to work you have to be very smooth. Take one hand always making sure the glass is over the napkin and lift it while taking the other hand and making it look as if you have moved the quarter and cover the quarter, with the rocks glass. The quarter is gone and your friends should freak. Be sure not to let them touch the glass or they will figure out your secret.

  Bar Trick 16

I know of two but am not sure they qualify as bar tricks. the first is to convince someone that the ph balance of two peoples hair is different, tell them that when you place two different persons hairs on a flat surface in liquid, any drink will do just pour a little pop or beer or even mixed drink onto the table, place the two hairs in the puddle and tell them to watch the "fighting hairs". When they eventually lean over (encourage them too if you have to) slap your hand in the puddle and splash the puddle on them it is not very nice but still funny.

The other involves an egg, bet someone that they cannot balance an egg on its end, I have seen it done three ways.

    1) Pour salt on the bar and lick egg sit it in the salt it will stand up.

    2) Spin the egg it will spin like a top and stand up, however this is where you should have a boiled egg and they have a soft egg yours will work theres act like a gyro and will not stand.

    3) Smash the egg lightly on the bar enough to just crack the shell (this works best if it is hard boiled) it will stand up.

Well like I said these are not completely bar tricks but still interesting, I would appreciate it if you let me know if you decide to use them. Thanks I enjoyed the site.
Submitted By: Wes

  Bar Trick 17

In South Africa we are huge Rugby fans. I regularly help out behind the bar in one of the corporate boxes. My favourite nasty Bar trick is played after the game when everybody has had a few drinks an start doing shots.

Fill a shotglass with Green Peppermint Liqeur and Green dishwashing liquid. Add a layer of cream on top. Place this somewhere on the barcounter and wait for some greedy sucker to spot it and drink it. (You don't have to con anybody into drinking it, there will always be someone who spots it and thinks he scored big-time)

P.S. This trick is best played on friends. It is not advisable to do this with paying customers.
Submitted By: Wes

  Bar Trick 18

Here's a great trick for freaking out people in a bar: Demonstrate your immunity to pain by holding a cigarette lengthwise, with your thumb on the cherry and your index finger on the cherry. The secret is to hold a cold cocktail in your hand before attempting the trick. Your index finger will be chilled by the cold glass so you won't get burned, unlike any chump who attempts to imitate you.
Submitted By: Andy P.

  Bar Trick 19

This is a good way to meet women: Walk up to a girl drinking any expensive drink, say a martini. Ask the bartender for a large bowl. PLace the bowl over the woman's drink before saying anything, then bet her 25 cents that you can drink her martini without touching the bowl. Realizing it's impossible, she should agree. Then pick up the bowl, quickly drink her drink, slap a quarter on the table and walk away. (It is then recommended that you return to buy her a drink or two).
Email or comments to Corky at The Virtual Bar
Copyright © 1995-2000 The Virtual Bar.
Last Touched: 10/12/00 6:26PM